How Does Client Invoicing Work?
This firm utilizes a system called CLIO for its invoicing. The name of the online platform is not important. The way it works and what you can expect to have happen as a client, is.
Clio is basically an online billing system. It allows your counsel to enter expenses, time, and other important aspects of your case as they occur in the furtherance of your case. After entering in information, the attorney can hit generate invoice. This creates a draft invoice, which once approved by the firm, is sent to the client.
What Can I Expect As A Client?
For clients on contingency matters, the amount due for each time entry will indicate as either: non-billable; or $0. For clients on retainer plans, basically everyone who is not a personal injury client, the amounts billed for each activity is indicated next to the given activity.
Here is the important part. Because the client receives a separate invoice each time we generate an invoice, throughout a client’s representation, a client might receive a large number of invoices.
Every few weeks a client might be receiving an email with a title of “An Invoice From The Lockwood Legal Group.” However, only after looking at the invoice will the client realize how much is owed on said invoice. Remember, because we attempt to send invoices out as frequently as we complete work to avoid accruing attorney fees in excess of what the client might expect, there might only be one or two items on a given invoice.
How Does A Client Pay Invoices?
CLIO offers a link in the client’s email allowing the client to make a payment on the case. A client can also, if he or she chooses, make a payment on a specific invoice.
The other important item to remember is, when you, the client, make a payment to the firm, or have your client trust funds withdrawn to apply to the outstanding amount owed to the firm, the invoices are automatically paid in order of their generation.
Thus, there is nothing for the client to do. Whether you have two invoices, or twenty-two invoices, any and all payments or moneys deposited in your client trust account will be applied to the invoices in chronological order.
Thus, paying $1,000.00 to the firm will apply said amount to invoice #1, then invoice #2, and so on, until either all outstanding amounts are paid, or the money runs out.
In cases where the amount is in excess of the outstanding invoices, both the firm and client are notified of an excess payment, and one of two things happens. Either, the Client is refunded the excess amount, or in instances where the firm is representing a client in a prolonged matter, with consent of the client, the excess is deposited in the client’s trust account.
We plan on providing a link to a sample invoice to the end of this article at some point. If it has been linked, click it here.
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